


Lost in Space

by Krisander



Series: Trollstuck 5.0 [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: And Most Of Them Get Them, Because I Don't Want To Give Away All The Relationships, Because It's A Giant Clusterfuck And I Have No Idea Who's Dating Who Anymore, Double Mobius Reach Around Special, Explicit Language, Gen, Most of the characters need hugs, References to Depression, Suprise Pairings - Freeform, Trollstuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:28:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24533086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krisander/pseuds/Krisander
Summary: A sequel to Trollstuck 5.0 and Egbert's EpochAs the newly inflated crew comes to terms with their new mission, they struggle to reunite with friends lost along the way. Watch as the swarm decides just how they will face the multitude of challenges opposing them, and the relationship drama that comes with being young adults trapped on a spaceship together.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas, John Egbert & Gamzee Makara, Karkat Vantas & Eridan Ampora, Nepeta Leijon & Equius Zahhak, Rose Lalonde/Kanaya Maryam, Sollux Captor & Aradia Megido & Feferi Peixes, Sollux Captor/Aradia Megido/Feferi Peixes
Series: Trollstuck 5.0 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/990012
Comments: 20
Kudos: 54





	1. Veracity

"Look, Roxy, I appreciate what you are trying to do, really," you pinch the bridge of your nose to keep from screaming, "but there's no point in working yourself to exhaustion over this. We have time."

"I can't just sit around and do _nothing_ Krabcatch," she replies with nary a slur to be heard. "Besides, it's been _perigees_. I'm not sure, but it feels like the longer they are gone, the harder it's gonna be to get them back."

You sigh, "Yeah, okay. But you're not going to make any progress when you're so tired you can barely stand. Go take a nap and come back to it fresh."

"Fine, mother cluckbeast," she grumbles. "Tell Dirkka where I'm at so he doesn't freak out again."

"I will tell your obsessive friend that I sent you to 'coon," you roll your eyes. "Now go."

You hover and watch as she stumbles towards her respite block. These idiots are really going to be the death of you. Half of them are obsessed with planning the death of the Empress, and the other half are obsessed with figuring out a way to return your missing crew member. None of them can apparently remember they are still trolls who need to eat and sleep, and that Godtier resurrections should not be relied upon for things like starvation or exhaustion. 

"Any luck?" someone asks. 

Turning, you spot the slight form of Callie hovering in the doorway. Her thin spiral horns almost scrape the top of the frame. Despite her lack of involvement with John, her guilt is obvious to anyone who cares to look. She must still feel responsible for giving him that terrible option. Well, good. She should feel responsible. 

Unable to stand looking at her anymore, you turn back to the mess before you. Objects of various sorts are cluttered about the entertainment block, sometimes even shoved into unceremonious piles. For some reason, there are always a ton of simple green cubes. You toe one viciously. 

"Doesn't look like it," you grumble. "Same sort of junk she is always pulling out of the Void."

The newest plan, as you understood it, was not to simply resurrect Johnny or call up his ghost, but rather to pull him straight out of the Void. As Rose had tried to explain to you, there was no resurrecting someone who was erased from existence by the power of the Jujus. He was not dead. He simply ceased to exist in any form. Somehow it seems morbid that being dead would have been the easier option. At least then you would have a corpse to work with.

"The Seers are quite certain Roxane's methods are the best path, despite Rosean's inability to view much due to the secretive nature of Void powers," Callie attempts to reassure you. 

"Forgive me if I don't put a lot of stock into the very powers that he sacrificed himself to give us," you glare at her accusingly. 

She flinches, "I know you are upset still, but at the time-"

"I know you were just doing what you felt was right," you interrupt. "I know you feel awful about it, I really do. But it doesn't make it okay, Callie. We lost a member of our crew."

"And I lost my brother!" she snaps. "I... I understand this is hard for you, and you feel like I am not suffering because I do not care for him, but I do. No matter how abrasive and awful he was, he is still my brother. It was- is- my job to keep him in line. Now he's gone and I am a failure, just like always."

You blink a few times, "I didn't realize... were you two...?"

She gives a wet laugh and rubs her eyes, "No, we weren't. He would never quadrant with anyone, let alone his detested sister. Besides, Dirkka always seemed to be there to enforce the more harsh measures I could never seem to work up the nerve to do. Being a moirail does not mean being a pushover, after all."

"If it's any consolation, I don't think the two of you would have worked out well," you grimace. "He definitely needed a more firm hand."

"Needs," she corrects. "He _needs_ a more firm hand. We're going to get them back, Karkat."

"Sure," you sigh and turn your gaze back to the random assortment of junk in the room. A bottle of clear yellow fluid catches your attention. When you pick it up, there is a picture of a laughing apple on it. You think you remember Dave saying it was John's favorite drink. 

"We have never had to deal with the permanency of death," a different voice interrupts your musing. 

You sharply glare at Rose, "What are you talking about?"

She glides over to a seat and gracefully reclines, "In most experiences for trolls and cherubs and humans, dying is the end. There is no resurrection, no conditional immortality, no retcon powers. It simply is the conclusion of life. 

"For us, however, there has never once been an instant we have lost someone forever. Your guardians were able to become sprites and guide you during The Game, while ours returned to us in the form of Roxy and the others. Even when members of our inclade died, we were able to visit them in the dream bubbles. So, really, we have never dealt with loss like this before."

"It isn't permanent," insists Callie.

Rosean turns to smile at her, "We hope. But that is something many humans said about death back on Earth, too. That there was some sort of other world our spirits went to after we died. However, there is no way of knowing if that is true. Well, no way of knowing while still remaining in the land of the living, anyway."

"They aren't dead," you argue, feeling particularly ill at ease.

"No, they are something far worse," agrees Rosean. "They were not just killed, they were unmade. If they were simply dead, we would be able to correct the problem as we have so many times in the past."

"What is the point of having players of the Life aspect if they cannot even bring people back from the dead?" you mutter.

"I am merely stating our emotional unbalances seem more severe in this instance because for many of us this is the first time we have experienced loss for any length of time." She sighs softly, "Some of us are more affected than others, but we are all dealing with it in our own way."

"Well, we shouldn't have to be dealing with it," you snarl.

"Perhaps, but we are," she points out. "We should not take out our frustrations on each other when we are all working towards the same goal."

You take her chastisement with grace. It is true, you suppose. Callie had repeatedly insisted she had no idea her inane suggestion was going to do anything more than kill John. She had even admitted to only finding the request reasonable because of the fact Jane or Feferi or even Meenah would have been able to bring him back. Never once had she suspected the Jujus would send out a psychic clash, vanishing the two trolls and knocking everyone else out for hours. By the time you all had awaken and realized what had happened, there was no trace of John or Calbor.

Since then, your two different inclades have come together to work towards common goals. After a few initial outbursts, your swarm has begun to coexist relatively peacefully. The spaceship is perhaps a bit more crowded than anyone would like, but the Space players have done a great job in increasing the amount of room inside the vessel. Dave keeps giggling about it 'being bigger on the inside.' 

"I miss him," you miserably admit.

"I know," she tugs you down to sit next to her. As you cuddle into her side, she confirms, "I miss him, too."

"Are wwe havving a pity party and no one invvited me?" Eridan's asks from the opposite doorway from Callie.

You raise your arms invitingly, and he pads over to join you on the recreational seating unit. Ensconced between the two highbloods, you sigh. Growing up is hard, and no one really understands. 

"I think I shall go check on Roxane," Callie announces.

The three of you watch as she beats a hasty retreat down the hallway Roxy took. 

"Do you suppose she is having vapors over the thought of the three of us in pale rapture?" Rose's smile looks decidedly smug.

You roll your eyes, "The Beforus trolls are the biggest set of prudes we have ever had the displeasure of meeting, yet she is almost the worst."

"Wwho's wworse than her?" Eridan asks.

"Kankri," you automatically reply.

"Oh, right," he shudders. "I forget your dancestor is... uh..."

"Almost as awful as yours?" you amusedly offer.

"Yeah, that," nods Eridan. 

Chuckling, Rose tucks you more firmly to her side, "Hey, Ampora. Go get your own cuddle buddy."

"Excuse you? He's my cuddle buddy," your moirail flares his face fins in annoyance.

"I was here first," she counters.

"He's my moirail," he declares, pulling you away from her and towards him.

"And he would like to point out neither of you are going to get cuddles if you keep this up," you grouse.

"Oh?" Rose raises one perfect eyebrow, "And who would you cuddle instead?" 

"Right now? Literally anyone but you two," you say. "I might even go find Zahhak."

"Wwhich one?" Eridan wrinkles his nose in disgust.

"Either of them. Each one is just as sweaty and gross as the other."

"Is there not a timeline where you are involved with them?" Rose asks curiously.

You take a moment to consider her question.

Part of the waking up after John and Calbor disappeared involved a lot of confusing and conflicting memories. Over time, you all managed to realize they were from all of your alternate timeline selves. This has caused no end of discord among the ranks, but rules were quickly put into place to prevent any of you from seeking vengeance from any wrongs, real or perceived. After all, there is very little any of you can find offensive without being hypocrites. 'Throwing stones in glass houses,' is what Jane called it.

"I don't think so," you slowly answer, still deep in thought. "I think every version of me has found them abhorrent. Besides, I am pretty sure Equius has straight up traumatized me in several universes."

"He does that to most people," Eridan chuckles. "I think it's unintentional." 

"Pity," sighs Rose. "He would be more interesting if it were some sort of plot."

"Highbloods," you scoff. 

"Oh, shoosh," Eridan paps your cheek once. "Wwe just havve more discerning tastes than you. Besides, I think... if I recall correctly, he's a good concupiscent partner. Vvery considerate."

"Ew!" you swat at his hand. "Don't tell me about your alternate selves' dalliances! Especially not if they include sweaty indigobloods."

"You'd be sayin something different if it wwere Jadite or Daevid wwho wwas swweaty in my memories," smirks your moirail, the utter bastard.

You smack him again, for good measure. Beside you, Rose is shaking with suppressed laughter. With a dramatic groan, you start oozing down the couch until you are laying with you back against the seat cushions.

"Well now, doesn't this look like fun?" interrupts a smooth voice.

Hastily scrambling upwards to see who is there, you spot the voluptuous Porrim sashaying forward. You clamp down on the instinctual need to flee whenever faced with the gorgeous jadeblood. You barely even notice the other trolls trailing after her like forlorn pupa barkbeasts. Her entourage settle into awkward stances or flop down onto their seats gracelessly.

"How lovely to see you, Porrim," Rose smiles. "What brings you to our little gathering?"

"I was wondering how Roxane's work was coming along," she tosses her hair over one shoulder. 

You gesture at the mounds of junk surrounding you, "She's still summoning inanimate objects left and right. Mostly cubes."

The older Zahhak sneers, "Perhaps we should leave this foolish errand and focus on the real battles ahead."

"Exactly!" nods Aranea. 

"Wwell, too bad you don't decide wwhat wwe do," snarls your moirail, his fins flaring dangerously. 

"John is an integral part of our inclade," Rose calmly states. "To suggest we leave him to his fate when he sacrificed so much for us is unconscionable." 

"From what I'm hearing, no progress is being made," Porrim raises one perfect eyebrow. "It might be better to let the problem simmer on the backburner while other projects take precedent. Then, when well rested, by all means we can return to finding your wayward crew member."

You rise from your extreme slouch with the vengeful wrath of a lover scorned, "Oh? What would you be saying if it was your precious Kankri instead of John? There would be none of these discussions of slacking off or taking breaks. You would be pushing Roxy past her limits every night to bring your sweater-encrusted excuse of a troll back to your side where you could properly scold him. Don't come at us with your empty platitudes, you fucking hypocrite!"

"I'd pap him, but I happen to agree wwith my diamond," Eridan flashes his shark grin. "You all can shut up. Wwe either wwin together or it wwasn't a wwin at all. Johnny's the one that said that."

"They're right, doll," Tavros's ancestor interrupts their spluttering. "I mean, losing part of the crew is still losing, right?"

"Anyway, we don't need your permission," you huff. "We're just as capable of making decisions as you lot, and we don't answer to Meenah."

"Really? You seemed so eager to serve her before," points out the sweaty indigoblood. 

You sneer at his pathetic insult, "Yeah? And in one timeline you turned your boyfriend into a hoofbeast robot to fulfill your beastiality fantasies, but we haven't culled you from our ranks or keep you ten paces away at all times. Although sometimes I certainly consider the latter."

Rufioh turns a brilliant bronze, "Th-that's-"

"Go easy on them, lovve," Eridan chuckles. "They aren't used to your colorful language." 

"Beforus was soft," you grumble. "None of these idiots would survive two minutes on Alternia if a few harsh words are enough to stop them."

"We certainly did better than you, since we still have all of our crew," Aranea says. "I still do not see how Roxane is not wasting her time on this pointless endeavor."

"I would like to take this time to remind everyone that all the Seers in the crew are in agreement- without John there is no victory to be had against the Empress," Rose brushes imaginary lint from her skirt. "We have yet to find a single fortuitous path that does not end in unacceptable losses."

The group of Beforus trolls appear to absorb this for a moment. It must seem strange to them that one person can make such a pivotal difference, but you know better. You had discussed before the strangeness that is John's relationship with what Rose likes to call 'the plot.' It appears he is a necessary element for the alpha timeline's continuation. 

"Noww wwe're all civil, howw are you lot?" asks Eridan. "Havven't seen some a you recently."

"We've been working with Meenah on how to approach the Empress problem," Porrim sighs. 

"Going that well?" you raise an eyebrow.

"We have yet to agree on a plan of action," Horuss says. 

"Vriska is certainly not helping matters," mutters her dancestor.

"Thank Gog you have to deal with her." You admit, "I have no idea how we would manage to keep her attention on the task at hand without immediate results."

"She is perhaps not the most patient," winces Rufioh. 

"It does not help that she and Terezi seem quite distant," Porrim huffs. "I really had hoped those two would stay together, since they were such a cute couple."

"Unfortunately certain timelines have proven to Rezi that she was wasting her time on that front," you tell her. "I'm not sure there is anyone of us who are willing to take on the monumental task of getting her into line. Even Eridan here is not as needy as she is."

"Hey!" he mock glares at you.

"Oh hush," you roll your eyes. "You know you're a drama queen."

"Like you aren't one as well," Rose mutters. You choose to ignore her.

"Perhaps someone from our crew will take on the task," muses Aranea aloud. "I dread to think who might attempt it."

"Meenah would have been a good option, if the two hadn't had that weird flushcrush in the dream bubbles," Porrim hums to herself.

"Isn't Meenah pale for Aranea?" questions Horuss, eyes darting towards the blueblood.

You grin, "Oh, come off it, you stuffy highblood. There are plenty of triads already. Or are you going to suggest a tyrianblood is in the wrong?"

As he stammers, Rufioh laughs, "Some of us are having a harder time with the multiple timelines and relationships than others. I am kind of enjoying it, honestly. It takes a lot of the pressure off of chatting with people."

"You mean respondin' wwhen everyone flirts with you," Eridan waggles his eyebrows. You elbow him in the gills just to hear him splutter.

" _Anyway_ ," you roll your eyes, "we have decided more quadrants and corners simply makes the crew stronger. Besides, we're all up for the cull either way for even existing. Might as well get killed for something actually worth it."

"Here, here!" Eridan cheers.

Rose smirks, "You are so much happier since you stopped freaking out about serendipity and one true love for each color. I wonder what your past self would think of your new viewpoint."

"He would probably freak out, but we've already established past me is a fucking moron," you grouse. "We have already been through more than most trolls in their entire lifetime, or even several when you consider alternate realities. Choosing which timeline's relationships were valid seems idiotic and emotionally stunting."

Porrim hums, "Yes, some of us have much decided the same. As long as all parties are in agreement, I see no harm in triads or even quads."

"It is a most intriguing cultural development," the blueblood chatterbox perks up. "You are right in concluding there is an evolutionary advantage, as quadranted trolls are more stable and will fiercely defend their mates. With multiple pairings, there is a higher chance of every troll in an inclade or swarm to have most, if not all, of their quadrants and corners filled. Of course, I am unsure if it would hold steady in any group that has not undergone multiple timelines. The amount of-"

"Okay, Aranea, we get it!" you interrupt, not wanting to be stuck in another impromptu lesson. And people say you like to talk to much! Obviously they have never met the Beforus Serket. Or Kankri. You shudder.

Beside you, Rose suddenly goes still. 

Turning to ask her what is going on, you shudder when you note the white light spilling from her eyes. Seer powers are so creepy. This is not terribly unusual, but these moments where visions impress themselves upon the viewer rather than them seek out the future… they are the worst. Terezi once mentioned to you it felt like all control was ripped away and she was merely a passive passenger in her own body. It sounds horrifying.

All of you hold still and silent, holding your breath as you await the vision to end. The tension is high. Very rarely are powers from The Game activating a good thing. Eventually, the light begins to dim and then flicker. 

She comes out of the vision grasping at your arm, harsh enough to leave bruises. Blinking rapidly, she chokes out, "She's done it!"

Then she is leaping to her feet, scrambling out of the room. Wait, what. You wonder where she is going. 

"Done what?" you shout after her, frustrated.

"She figured out how to get them back!" her voice yells back. 

For a brief moment of incomprehension, you sit there and stare like a dolt. Then you are tripping over your own feet after her, "Holy shit!" 

You snag Eridan's hand as you go, dragging him behind you. There is a commotion from the Beforus gang, but you are far too busy to bother with them. By the time you enter Roxy's personal quarters, you are huffing and gasping for air. Roxy is still standing in her recuperacoon, excitedly yammering to Rose as they both jump up and down in joy.

"Karkat! Karkat, I think I know what I've been doing wrong!" she exclaims as soon as she sees you. "I can't bring back just John because he's linked with the jujus now. Rose agrees! She says she can see them coming back now!"

"Wait, them?" you freeze.

"We have to bring back John and Caliborn at the same time," Roxy tells you. "That's what I've been doing wrong. I'm always focusing on one or the other, but all I can summon is things they like. They disappeared together, so it makes sense they have to come back together."

"Don't fret, Karkat," Rose smiles. "Things are not nearly as dire as you imagine. This really is the most fortuitous outcome for us."

"Wwell," your moirail shrugs, "if that's wwhat has to happen… wwhen do wwe tell the others to gather?"

"Right now!" Roxy literally bounces out of her 'coon and onto the floor. "The biggest block we have!"

She rushes out of the room and leaves you all there looking at each other. You sigh. 

"I guess I'll send out a memo?" offers Eridan.

Rose rolls her eyes, "Let's just use the intercom system like rational adults and leave the memo boards for less important things."


	2. Portentous

"Hurry, hurry!" you urge, excited for the ritual to get underway. "Come on, slug bugs!"

"Feferi," sighs Sollux. "It will not happen any fathter if you run than if you don't."

You frown, bouncing on your heels, "You don't know that, Sollux. Maybe it will! Now come ooooonn!"

Nepeta pounces onto your boyfriend, "Feferi is purrfectly right! Maybe it will happen faster if we hurry. Or- oh no! Maybe it won't happen at all if we laze about!"

"With how thing have gone since The Game, I am sure none of us want to risk such a thing being the case," points out Equius.

"Exactly!" you grin brightly as you grab Sollux's arm to hustle him along. 

Although he grumbles, he does nothing to stop you. You bet under all his grump he is just as excited as the rest of you. There is very little more intriguing to Doom players than the extent rules can be bent if not broken. Summoning back crew members from the unknown reaches of beyond-death sounds right up his alley. 

The block Rosean and Roxane have chosen is one of the largest communal spaces on the ship. Even so, it seems nearly unbearably crowded by the time you arrive. It looks like every single troll is going to show up, even all the Beforus ones. You are surprised, if only because you don't know exactly how much Johnny ever interacted with them. Maybe they are just here for moral support?

Even from your position near the entrance, you can see Rosean attempting to talk over the crowd. With all the commotion going on, it is not easy. Some trolls are even interrupting her to shout their questions.

"EVERYONE SHUT YOUR FUCKING WINDPIPES!" screams Karkat. The rabble immediately dies down and he turns to Rosean with a mocking half-bow.

"Thank you," she smiles. "As I was attempting to explain, Roxy has finally figured out how to bring back our missing crew members. My Seer powers have indicated this is the most fortuitous path for us to take. Please save any questions you may have about the process until later when such discussions can be done one-on-one."

"Crew members?" you wrinkle your nose. "Plural?"

"I have a bad feeling about thith," Sollux shifts uneasily.

"Alright, are we ready boys and girls and other non-affiliated genders?" Roxane grins widely. The sheen in her eyes indicates she has not slept recently. Or perhaps she is going just a bit mad. Hard to tell with this crew, really. "Let's do this thing!"

Clapping her hands together, she closes her eyes and begins to concentrate. For a few tense moments, nothing appears to be happening. Then, a small white-blue light appears in front of her. Pressure changes cause the air to begin to roil, tossing hair and clothes about as if in a storm. This is all fairly standard, from what you have seen of her attempts thus far.

After a second, though, it becomes clear this time is different. When normally there would be a random object appearing with a small pop, there instead is a slow expansion of the bright light. Soon you have to squint to see anything at all. 

Inside the light, you can see a slightly darker spot that is growing. In a few seconds, it is no longer a spot but rather the dim shadows of two vaguely troll-sized shapes. You are not the only one who notices, as a chorus of gasps echo around the room.

"Life players at the ready!" Rosean calls out. "We don't know how being in limbo will affect-"

With a loud crack and one last blinding flash, the light disappears. 

As you blink away the spots in your vision, you see a blue-clad figure darting away. Before anyone else can react, there is a flash and a third troll blocks Johnny's escape. You frown when you recognize the troll as Calbor. Especially since he is also standing where the light was. Oh, right. That certain shade of red is associated with Time players. He must be creating time loops.

The Calbor from the future or past snarls and reaches out with his claws. Johnny immediately scrunches his nose and then… just dissolves. You try to remain calm. No one else seems overly panicked about the little rustblood literally vanishing into thin air. 

"YOU FUCKER!" screams Calbor. "You promised! You wouldn't do that! No Aspect powers!"

"You cheated first," Johnny's voice lazily replies from empty space. 

"Johnny!" his rage is turning into panic. "Don't! Don't leave me! All alone! You promised!" 

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" With a huff, Johnny reappears with a roll of his eyes., "You are _such_ a wiggler."

When Calbor lunges for him again, he dodges and continues, "I'm not your 'rail. Luckily, it looks like someone else is here to take over. Tag, you're it!" A gust of wind shoves Calbor in the direction of the ex-human in the pointy anime shades. 

Dirkka, although seemingly surprised, does not push away the clingy mutant. Oh, are they quadranted? Cornered? You do not know enough about the Beforus inclade, let alone the ex-cherubs, to decide if this is a beneficial relationship or not. The way the smaller troll is attempting to crawl into the indigoblood's thoracic cavity is a good sign, though. 

Johnny's shoulders slump with relief as he looks over the gathered crowd, "Thank fuck. I really couldn't stand being a grubsitter any longer."

"Holy shit!" yells Karkat. "Roxane just ripped you out of the Void by stealing the nothingness of you existing, and the first thing you say to us is how annoyed you are? No how are you guys, or so happy to see you after three whole perigees? Just bitching about how much you disliked being where you were. Typical!"

"Missed you too, Karkat," the little rustblood grins. Then he wrinkles his nose and scratches the back of his neck, "Jeez, only three perigees? Are you sure? It felt like a lot longer."

"Felt like… where were you?" asks Aranea, curiosity piqued.

However, there is no response, because Johnny is too busy being tackled by indigobloods. Jadite reaches him first, practically howling with tears as she squeezes around his middle. Next Rosean is wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Finally Daevid suddenly appears and somehow manages to gather all three of the others in his arms to lovingly crush them. 

It fills your gills with glee to see such tenderness in trolls not even quadranted or cornered. Heck, maybe they are now? Most of the reason they are not in any relationships with Johnny were due to the fact he was missing. Since he has returned, there will probably be some changes to the infamous Leijon shipping wall. 

" _You… **idiot!**_ " snarls Daevid as he pulls away at arms length to yell at Johnny. Ah, there it is. Probably two minutes earlier than you expected, but a good old-fashioned pale scolding is definitely due. Johnny did, after all, consent to a culling. For the good of the crew, yada-yada, but seriously someone has to bring him back from the edge.

"Agreed!" Jadite crushes her ecto-brother even tighter to her chest. "You are hereby banned from making any decisions without at least two of us involved. I've already lost you so many times and then you go and - you- you- you- you fucking _airhead_!"

"Jade. Can't. Breathe!" he wiggles, but ultimately does not do anything drastic to escape. You feel like he is trying to lower the tension in the room rather than has a serious complaint. 

"You are literally made of Breath, John," Rosean smugly reminds him.

"I have a feeling if I Become right now, one of you will find a way to make me turn back and chain me to a chair," the little rustblood points out. "I see you have your Godtier outfits. Good to know Calliope was not pulling my leg. I was pretty sure she wasn't, but Calbor over there liked to tell me we died for nothing."

"While we appreciate your sacrifice, you are never to do such a thing ever again," you sternly tell him, fins flared out for emphasis. "We could have lost you! You are a part of this crew, whether you like it or not, and there is no victory if we aren't all there to celebrate."

His grin is a little wobbly when he replies, "Yeah, sure. I mean, that sounds right."

"This is not something fixed by one conversation," Rosean sighs as she places her chin on the top of his wild hair. "But rest assured, we will not be the only ones bringing this up. In fact, I believe there is one troll in particular who is eager to take you to task."

You are not quite sure who she is talking about for a moment. Glancing over, you note Calbor is now trying to shove Dirkka away. Although he is doing so in a paltry sort of way that suggests he is only doing it for show and actually has no intentions of going anywhere without the indigoblood. However, none of the trolls present appear to be leaping forward to scold the little rustblood.

"Speaking of the devil, where is he?" Daevid wrinkles his nose and looks around as well.

A deep sort of rumbling growl emits from the vents above all of you. What emerges with a bang is Gamzee, facepaint smeared into a daymareish caricature of a Subjugulator. Everyone parts immediately as he stomps forward in a beeline for Johnny. With one large hand he grabs the errant ex-human by the scruff and hauls him up to eye-level. 

"You said you would always be there for me," accuses Gamzee angrily. The underlying tone of hurt almost surprises you. Thinking back, the only timeline they had any real relationship was the one you all interrupted when you awoke on Alternia with your memories of The Game. Perhaps some timelines weigh more heavily than others for some members of your crew. 

"Oh. You… oh, fuck, you all remember again," Johnny's eyes are impossibly wide and teary. 

"Yeah, we remember everything," Aradia helpfully supplies. "We remember the Game and Alternia. All the different timelines, actually! Even the doomed ones."

"Oh," he faintly repeats. "I thought it was just us, since we were in like purgatory or some shit."

Then he is very nearly crushed to death in an embrace. The rumbling growl begins to stumble and churn into a sort of rough purr. What little you can see of Johnny, just his yellow shoes and one small hand, are waving about wildly. Then the hand begins to pap everything within reach. Even when barely able to move, he is attempting to act as conciliator. 

"Sssshhh," he is saying. "It's okay. I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere. Shoosh-a-shoosh."

As if on cue, Gamzee's shoulders relax just a fraction and instead of trying to crush Johnny he is clinging to him. Well, alright then. Guess those two are having this out right in the middle of your entire inclade plus the Beforus trolls.

"This is why you've been so pissy about relationships," Karkat finally realizes. "When we stopped remembering, you lost him. He was replaced by the idiot working for Douchelord Supreme."

"Thanks for that reminder, dillweed," Johnny hisses over his moirail's head.

"This is boring," announces Meenah. "And mushy! Can you four dial down the pale rapture displays?"

With a twitch of his eye, he sends her tiara flying, "Fuck off, discount Empress. I've been trapped in a fucking blank dimension with nothing and no one except the larval form of Lord English for company. If my 'rail wants a cuddle he gets a Goddamn cuddle."

"Yeesh, that does sound awful," Roxane winces.

Vriska flips her hair over her shoulder, "Just because you don't have an official diamond doesn't mean you can be a dick to Johnny. Besides, this is pretty much par for the course for this crew. Better get used to it!"

"At leatht they aren't doomed thith time," points out Sollux. "Welcome back, JN, by the way."

"Yeah, it is good to see you again!" Tavros smiles.

"We have all missed you a pawful lot!" exclaims Nepeta. 

"And we are sure relieved to see you in one piece again!" adds Jhaney.

"I would say group hug but I think I'm trapped for at least the next ten minutes," he gestures down at the purpleblood squeezing him. 

"Yeah, he's been AWOL since we left Alternia," Daevid says with a shrug. "Figured he was hiding out somewhere, not crawling through the vents. How did he even fit?"

Johnny frowns, "The entire time?"

"Yeah, we tried to track him down once or twice, but decided it would be best if we left him alone," admits Karkat with a wince. Oh. That... looked like someone who was shot down from a diamond. You had no idea Karkat still was clinging to a doomed timeline's relationship. Especially when he still has Eridan in the pale quadrant. 

"I even tried to tell him our plan," Roxane admits. "About, you know, bringin' you back. I couldn't find him, though. Also, I wasn't really expecting Calbor, too."

"I think we unfortunately are part of the same shitty package deal," grimaces the rustblood boy. "The 'Jujus are All That Are Keeping Us Alive and I Didn't Even Get A Shirt' Club. Very exclusive. Only two members."

"Can you shut up?" growls Calbor himself from his moirail's arms. "I'm not ready. To try killing you again. Yet."

Johnny deadpans back, "Well, I'm not quite ready to die again yet, so that's nice. Also, no and fuck you."

"Wait, wait, wait!" you glance back and forth wildly. "Were you two _actually_ killing each other out there?"

"Yeah, I thought sexy kismesis fighting was happening," Mituna exclaims unhappily. 

"Turns out murder in the void is neither Heroic nor Just," Johnny shrugs. "No matter how much the other party deserves it. Besides, there was not an awful lot to do besides get on each other's last nerve."

"Okay, how about we not talk about depressing things when we have finally managed to complete the crew?" suggests Porrim, the ever sensible one. 

"Yeah, we can get into the gritty details later," agrees Dirkka. "For now, let's avoid that and get you two caught up on what has happened."

"Right!" exclaims Aradia brightly. "Death is fine and dandy, but we should enjoy being alive while we can!"

"He's more annoying alive," complains Calbor. "He whines. A lot. And asks too many. What if questions."

Johnny retorts with, "I at least never tried to eat _your_ corpse before the light show."

"Unless you are asking to be dead again. Shut up," Calbor glares. With one raised eyebrow from Johnny, he begrudgingly adds, "Please."

The resulting smile is blinding, "Okay!" 

"Wvait, wvhat wvas this about him going cannibal?" a rather worried Cronus asks. 

The rustblood just shrugs and mimes zipping his mouth shut and throwing away the key. No one is amused. Even Gamzee puts him back down on the floor to specifically cuff the back of his head. Gently. Oh, you are so thrilled to see another new moirallegiance; Nepeta will be giddy for nights. 

"Johnny, you can't just say something like that and then not explain!" shouts Karkat. 

"Unless... wait, are you rewarding him for saying please?" Kanaya asks. At his noncommittal shrug, she muses, "You are literally classically conditioning your potential kismesis. That is something that I never even considered." 

Well, that is an interesting thought. Then again, as Eridan has shown you, sometimes training someone you want in a quadrant is damned near impossible. Besides, you do not have a dedicated kismesis at the moment. Your motley amalgamation of boyfriends and girlfriends occasionally slip into the dark quadrant, but all of you have agreed on more fluid relationships than what would be considered strictly traditional. 

You sort of hope you give the current Empress a bloodpusher attack from sheer impropriety when you finally meet her. Would save all of you a lot of trouble.

Jadite wrinkles her nose, "Uh, well, you know, that's one way to go about being stuck with each other. But are you two actually dating? Because eating your dead boyfriend is not okay even for the black quadrant."

Their responding expressions are probably answer enough, but Calbor adds, "Fuck no! Urgh!"

"You two are a disaster," comments Latula.

"A delicious disaster," grins Terezi. "It's like two pupas who refuse to admit they have feelings for each other, but still step on each other's toes."

"I think. For Johnny to hate someone. In that way. He would have to stop. Hating himself first," Calbor slowly reasons aloud. 

"Wvowv," Cronus says. "I think that's the saddest thing I'vw evwer heard."

With lots of cajoling and teasing, your inclade finally feels more settled. The first order of business is food, as Johnny loudly reminds you all he has not had anything to eat since before he vanished. Seeing as how it has been a few perigees, you watch as everyone literally trips over themselves to get him and Calbor to the communal dining block. 

Immediately you hop over to the meal preparation block and get to work. You throw together a few quick things to tide them over as the rest of the food finishes cooking. It is nice to know your skills with baking are still valued by your crew. Jhaney is more than happy to help out as well, but often mutters about how much she hates cakes. 

When you two finally emerge, you discover every single troll has gathered at the two long galley tables. This is the first time everyone has been present for a meal since… well, ever. You are not sure about before your crew joined with the Beforus ones, but never before has everyone been present at the same time. It makes your bile sac fill with fluttering winged insects. 

Sollux and Aradia snag you as you set dishes on the table, settling you on the bench between the two of them. Directly across the sturdy surface, Johnny is bemusedly covered in highbloods. Jadite and Gamzee are fighting for the honor of being in his tiny lap, while Daevid and Rosean lean onto either of his sides. Also involved with the cluster is Karkat in Daevid's own lap, and Kanaya sitting primly next to her matesprit. 

Just to the outer side of Kanaya are Dirkka and Roxane, the former of whom has Calbor seated between his legs with the smaller mutantblood's back pressed against his thorax. He seems to be attempting to coax the tiny miscreant to not insult everyone within hearing range by distracting him with food. To be fair, it appears to be working. 

Nepeta leans over Aradia to smile brightly at you, "This is going to be a pawful amount of fun!"

"It is!" you agree. "We finally have our full inclade!"

"Maybe that meanth thome trollth will thtop bitching and get a move on with the relationthhipth," mumbles Sollux. 

"To be fair, quite a few of us have had some other concerns on our minds," you remind him. 

"Hey, Feferi!" Johnny looks up from across the table. "How are you faring with your two-by-three-dent these nights?"

You wink at him, "I could mop the floor with you any night this week."

"Excellent!" he grins. "Everyone else?"

"We still remember all your lessons, Johnny," Aradia gently reminds him. "There's no need for you to inquire after our skills."

"Just because you remember doesn't mean you've been practicing," chides the tiny rustblood. Then he grunts as Gamzee finally manages to win and plants himself on top of both Johnny and Jadite. The poor troll on the bottom of this arrangement looks like he had the wind knocked out of him.

"Fair," agrees Aradia. "I will ask the others if we want to start regular grief rotations again. There is a block for such a purpose that I am sure the Space players can expand to fit our needs."

"That seems simple enough," agrees Kanaya. 

"Sounds exciting!" you giggle with glee. "I will see if any of our dancestors want to join us! There will be plenty of times we need to work together."

"Too much plotting and not enough grief," Sollux nods. "We thhould conthentrate on both."

"Later in the week," Rosean demands. "First we have quite a few therapy sessions to catch up on, considering your horrid tendency to leap before thinking, John."

He wrinkles his nose, "I never said I was the wise one of the group, Rose. That's all you."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean she has the monopoly on the single brain cell we share," Daevid counters. "You can ask to borrow it sometimes, you know."

Jadite rolls her eyes, "That would require he actually stop dissociating and recognize that he is allowed to have emotions more than just when they explode everywhere like a Molotov cocktail."

The little burgundyblood frowns, "Hey, I have emotions. They just… maybe they just aren't exactly the same as yours, but that doesn't mean they aren't valid."

"Ugh, this again," Calbor snarls from his seat with his moirail. "I am quite done. Hearing about feelings!" 

Dirkka squeezes his arms around Calbor's middle until he _squeaks_ , "Weird, 'cause we're gonna be doing a lot of that talk in a bit, seeing as how we never had the chance before."

"Feelings are perfectly normal," smiles Callie. She glances at Johnny and adds, "In all their forms. Everyone reacts to the same situations in different ways. It is not fair to hold anyone to the same standard."

"Don't think we won't have a feelings jam as well," darkly reminds Gamzee, his eyes laser-focused on his tiny moirail. 

"That's fair," Johnny says. 

You clap your hands delightedly, "It's wonderful seeing you all get along so well! I was worried there might be some distance with you two being gone so long, but I'm glad I was wrong."

"I think all the timelines we've shared help with keeping us a cohesive unit," Daevid reminds you. 

"Thank goodness we have Godtier again," Aradia hums thoughtfully. "Those first few days… well, weeks really- were chaotic."

"All those grudges and unfulfilled cahoots," nods Jadite. "I'm glad we had some troll versions of ourselves to pull knowledge from, or else it would have been beyond confusing for us. Also, revenge from previous timelines does not appear to be Heroic or Just."

"Oh! We need to tell the boys the rules!" you exclaim.

"Right," Daevid grimaces. "We have a strict no maiming or killing policy. If things do get out of hand, we have a standard operating protocol of pausing and getting the nearest neutral party to do a reset death so nothing is Heroic or Just. For safety's sake, really. Thus far, no intercrew deaths have been permanent, so apparently it's working."

"Morbid," Johnny notes, "but practical. We had a truce in the Void after figuring out no deaths there stuck, no matter how apparently Just they seemed."

"I still think. You are deserving. Of far worse. For being so annoying," snarls Calbor. 

"We just had this discussion. No killing anyone!" you chide. "Not even for being annoying."

"Save the wanton murder for people who deserve it," agrees Dirkka. "Namely Imperial drones and the Empress."

"Exactly!" your grin is full of sharp fangs. "We have plenty of enemies to murder. No need to go after our inclade."

"No one thhould kill their crew anyway," mutters Sollux rebelliously. You have little doubt he is remembering certain specific betrayals and cahoots from your pre-SGRUB past.

"I will say I do worry about no longer seeming to have the dream bubbles," notes Aradia pensively. "I had hoped it was because we simply had not made that deal in this universe yet, but it appears as if we are not going to have that option this time."

"Our goal is to keep the timeline intact and everyone alive," you remind them. "We don't need the dream bubbles if we do that."

"Well, that's a good goal anyway, since I no longer have my retcon abilities," Johnny admits. "Meaning this is it. We only get one shot at this timeline."

Everyone takes a moment to process this.

Technically, there are still the Time players who can help prevent or change some things, but nothing is quite to the same scale as what you have heard about the retcon process. Jumping to a whole other universe is pretty much a hard reset. Quite frankly, though, you really hope your group never needs to regret not having that as an option. You have all been through so much already. You do not know if you have the reserves to go through any more tragedies. 

"Retcon abilities are nice, but they should not be necessary if we can all work together," Rosean huffs. "The fact you believe you need to take care of all of us is a failing on our part. One person is not responsible for the entire crew."

Blinking, you consider her statements. Johnny did always have an overactive sense of guilt. He was always trying to micromanage things and took it as a personal failure if any one thing went wrong. The fact he had the retcon powers probably only exacerbated the situation.

"I only really know Johnny, as my interactions with human John were limited at best," Aradia muses. "Is this inflated sense of guilt a new thing?"

"You know, I think it is," hums Jadite. "As a person, John was usually the more stoic of the group and usually accepted things as they were. He was the first to realize the quests important for us to finish, even when Rose was busy destroying everything."

"He also allowed Vriska to put him to sleep on his quest bed, even knowing she planned for him to die on it," Daevid adds. "At the time, we had no confirmation that Godtier was even a thing."

"My littlest bro didn't get his lusus on with the crew until he was the only one who remembered," Gamzee mutters darkly. His tone contrasts how he gently traces a small ear with the tip of his claw, "Somehow that up and convinced him he was responsible for every little thing."

"Oh, this is a Spider-Man thing!" Jadite suddenly exclaims.

All the SGRUB trolls just stare at her. 

"Ah," nods Rosean, "that would make sense."

"What is Spider-Man?" Kanaya gingerly asks, as if somewhat concerned about the response. 

"With great power comes great responsibility," quotes Daevid. This does not really clear up anything. You all turn your expectant gazes to the Seer at this section of the tables. 

"Spider-Man is a fictional superhero who gains the powers of, well, a spider and uses them to help others as a vigilante," explains his ecto-sister more succinctly. "Almost all of his tales revolve around the idea that if you have the ability to help others, you then have the _responsibility_ to do so. Strangely enough, from what I remember of most the stories also involve his struggle with self-sacrificing his own happiness and wellbeing to fulfil his own expectations of himself."

You wrinkle your nose, "That does sound rather like Johnny."

"Well, no worries," shrugs Jadite. "We'll just have to all have talks about this and reiterate how unacceptable it is. Each of us."

Johnny groans, likely already imagining the multiple dressing downs he will face in the near future. You giggle. It is entirely his own fault. Perhaps having the fact so many people love and hate and depend on him shoved under his very smell nub will do him some good. 

With good food and conversation, the night passes quickly. Soon your inclade are all breaking off into smaller groups or pairs, ready to call it a morning and head to 'coon. 

Delighted, you are quick to round up your nebulous group of quadrants and corners and start herding them towards your lavish blocks. Sometimes it pays to be one of only four sea-dwellers on a vessel. Especially when the Space players worked hard to duplicate and expand the half-submerged blocks for your convenience. There is plenty of room for you all to have a couple different trysts happening all at the same time.

If you wanted to, that is. This morning, though, you simply want to gather them all in your group pile and chat the day away like you are all pupas at a slumber party. There is something ridiculously reassuring about being able to reach out and touch each one of them. Aradia. Sollux. Nepeta. Equius. The only one missing is Jadite, and you cannot blame her for wanting to do the same with Johnny and the rest of the ex-humans. 

"Everything is working out purrfectly," Nepeta stretches to be able to put her head in your lap from her position draped over Equius's chest. "Did you see how Karkitty couldn't take his eyes off him?"

You giggle, "Another update to your shipping wall?"

"Nah," she shakes her head. "Those two have been together on there for ages and ages. Even if they can't decide what corner or quadrant they want to be in, at least they can be together now."

Equius clears his throat delicately, "Daevid would probably not allow such a travesty towards decorum to occur."

"What, like you?" scoffs Sollux. "How did that work out for you, EQ?" 

As he turns impressively blue and stutters, you remind him, "The humans have even less of a regard for proper quadranting than we do. If Jadite is to be believed, they even had triads or even larger groupings even with their one-quadrant system! Besides, Daevid and Johnny were pretty flushed-pale themselves. I could see something working out there with all three of them."

"I believe everyone is expecting _something_ to happen there," agrees Aradia. "We will just have to wait and see who makes the first move."

"Bets on it not even being Johnny or Karkat?" Nepeta asks. Then she giggles as everyone's hand shoots into the air.


	3. Accede

Well, there is certainly something to say about the ex-humans. Not that you are sure what exactly it is, but it is there all the same.

They seem to thrive on the improbable, the impossible, the forbidden. Even better, they convinced the rest of your inclade to follow in their wake. Watching the confusing kaleidoscope that is Feferi's quadrants and corners, you feel less and less jealous and more content. What does it matter if no one else ever knows if today she and Aradia (or Sollux or Nepeta or even _Jadite_ ) are red or black or pale (or grey)? All that matters is that they somehow know. 

It is freeing, in a way. You and Karkat have had many a feelings jam about this very topic until you both broke down your preconceived notions on how relationships _has_ to work and realized no one really quite fits into a box anyway. Besides, you are all the sum of a billion lives at this point, living in an unsanctioned vessel heading towards the outskirts of the Empire. Here there are no rules. 

So it is with very little surprise you find yourself trapping your diamond for another conversation. He has been tip-toeing about something since Johnny's return, and you are nearly certain you know what it is. Again, you have seen it before. Several variations of it, in fact. 

"Wwhen wwere you goin to break dowwn and talk to me?" you huff, laying draped over him like a snuggle plane. 

He sighs, deep and remorseful, "Probably a few weeks yet." He scrubs his face with the heel of both palms, "Do we have to do this right now?"

"Considering you'll just run awway again?" you dryly respond. "Yes."

"Insufferable prick," he grumbles.

"Wwhiny bitch," you counter. 

He grunts and gives you a lazy smack across your shoulder. There are larval-meowbeasts who hit harder. Gosh, you are so damn pale for him. 

"Uuuugh, fine!" he exclaims. "If we talk about it, can I at least have frozen grub cream after?"

"Deal," you grin. "Noww, start talking. Wwhich quadrant?"

"Wh-what?" he splutters.

"I'm not an imbecile, Kar. Wwe'vve all seen you ogling Johnny," you waggle your eyebrows at him. He smacks you again, so you relent, "So? Wwhat quadrant? Or corner, I suppose, but you seem a bit too stropy for it to be just a corner."

He blows out a frustrated breath of air that turns into a plaintive whine, "I _don't know_."

You jerk your head up to look at his face, "Wwhat do you mean?"

"I mean I don't know!" he quiet-yells. His brows are furrowed, mouth frowning. It looks like equal parts frustration and confusion.

"Wwell, does it really matter?" you shrug. "Just let him knoww you're interested and go from there."

For a few minutes, neither of you say anything else. It is a comfortable silence on your end, because you know he will cave eventually. When he finally does speak, it is so quiet you almost miss it. 

"What if we end up pale?" 

You laugh, "So?"

"What do you mean 'so?' You've always been a jealous git. I assumed this would lead to a fight of epic proportions!" he bares his fangs at you. 

You trail your fingertips along his pouting lips, his crooked nose, his eyebrow ridges. You croon, "Swweetest sugar, pale diamond of mine. I don't fuckin care. I don't think any a us care anymore. Wwhy should wwe? It's not like lovve or hate dry up wwith just one troll. There's not a finite amount of it."

"I know that! I do! But that does not mean we cannot get upset about it," he argues. "Jealous about time spent apart or with others. Jealous about perceived slights and emotional distances. These are things that still happen."

"Yeah, I suppose… if wwe wwere idiots and nevver communicated," you roll your eyes. "The key is honesty. I learned that one the hard wway, in about a hundred different timelines. It's wwhy me and Fef hardly evver wwork out."

"Because you began your whole relationship based on a lie? Who would have guessed," scoffs your moirail. 

"If roughly a thousand different timelines taught me anything, it's that sometimes things don't go accordin to plan," you grin ruefully. "Also, wwe sometimes are too stuck on wwhat wwe think wwe wwant, wwhen really wwe already havve evverything wwe could evver imagine."

"You're waxing philosophical again," he teases. 

"Sometimes wwe need a little philosophy in our lives."

"Sure we do," smiles Karkat. "You just want to avoid talking about your own relationship bungles."

You huff, "Not much to talk about. I'm still figurin' out wwhere I stand wwith the Beforus crew. Really, really wwish I hadn't a given Kronus the time of night before. He's awwful."

"Yeah," he winces. "Not sure why you were so desperate as to allow him to take you on a date, but punching him in the face did make Meenah laugh."

"I am rather proud of that punch," you admit. 

"So besides 'just go for it,' do you have any other advice?" he frowns.

You shrug, "Not really. I havven't spent much time wwith the ex-humans. Evven wwhen they wwere trolls."

"A lot of help you are," growls Karkat.

"No one evver said it wwas my job to get you laid," you remind him. "It's my job to point out wwhen you're being an idiot. Talk to Daevid. He might havve some ideas."

Karkat's face is so pained, you laugh. He indignantly splutters, "I can't! He'll be no help, because Dave likes him, too!"

"Huh," you sober. "Red?"

"I think… or maybe pale," admits your moirail, "but he'd have to share a quadrant or corner with Gamz, and I don't see that going well."

"All the luck to him," you nod. 

Then the two of you recline in companionable silence for a while. 

You are not sure how long you relax. Time is all but meaningless here, with so many people willing to bend it to their whims. Also, you are literally in a flying tin can in deep space, so there really is not a day and night cycle to worry about. It has caused countless interventions on and by others to keep everyone somewhat healthy, considering how many would rather work until they dropped instead of going to their recuperacoon in a reasonable timeframe. 

Eventually, you heave a great sigh. There are things you do need to get done at some point in the near future. And since you do not particularly want to beg Aradia or Daevid to help you out, you need to do so without involving time shenanigans. Shame.

"Come on, then," you grumble. "Wwe can't lie about all night."

"Technically, we _could_ ," mutters Karkat rebelliously. Yet he still rises reluctantly from the pile. 

"Atta boy," you grin. "Let's go wwrangle some trolls into being productivve."

That perks your moirail up more than anything else, "I bet none of them have so much as moved a frond since we've been in here. Sometimes I wonder how the Beforus trolls ever got anything done."

Revitalized after your quality diamond time, you exit the cuddle block and make your way directly to the area the ex-humans have termed the 'mission room.' This is where all the plotting and planning happen (and absolutely zero cahoots). It took some time before you were comfortable participating in these discussions, but it helps to know everyone has agreed on wiping the slates clean. Plus, Rosean has some killer snark when she wants.

"Evvening," you nod to the others as you enter.

Daevid's eyebrow twitches, "Actually, it's-"

Jadite throws an elbow into his ribs so hard the indigoblood actually splutters, "Enough, Dave. Good to see you, Eridan. Help me talk these idiots out of doing anything disastrous to both the timeline and our health."

"Wwait, wwhat?" you squint. "Wwhat are the Time players trying to do noww?"

"They want to time travel back to see if they can convince our ancestors to join us," succinctly summarizes Rosean, "despite the fact all of the Seers have agreed such an act is at best fruitless and at worse completely dooming."

"Lovvely," you heave a sigh. "Aradia. Wwhy do you even wwant to do such a thing?"

She perks up at being asked, "Our conjecture is our ancestors must exist since we have found all the Beforus trolls on this ship as young adults. If we can find them and convince them to join us, we will double our numbers."

"More fodder for fighting," Damara grins. 

"And we said that was a terrible idea, because if we pluck our genetic donors from the timeline, there is a good chance we would cease to exist," huffs Terezi. "I can understand wanting to have something to do, Megidos and Dave, but it could literally end with us all gone. That would be a retcon, not a stable time loop."

"But we never were born here anyway," Daevid counters. "We arrived via meteor, right? Since we are all ectoclones and siblings."

Rosean mutters something that vaguely sounds like 'morons.' Terezi actually bangs her head against the table. Wow. They must have been at this for a while if they are going around in circles like this. 

"Wwhat can I evven say that the others havven't?" You pause. "Actually. Hang on a sec." You get up, walk over to the doorway, and stick your head into the hall, "KAR! YOUR MATESPRIT IS RISKING HIMSELF OVVER STUPID SHIT!"

You go back and take your seat to stunned silence. 

"You son of a-"

"DAEVID!" Karkat comes sliding into the room, "What. The. Hell?"

"Babe, it's not nearly as bad as-"

"Time traveling to the past to bring our genetic donors here, potentially causing us all to cease to exist," Terezi informs him. 

Karkat crosses his arms, "Absolutely not. What part of that even seems like a good idea? Last I heard, our odds were not so terrible that we need to do anything so risky. Unraveling our whole timeline on the off chance these regular adult trolls with no Game powers can _and are willing_ to help is beyond idiotic."

"Oh…" Aradia frowns. "Shoot. I forgot they wouldn't have any aspects or classes."

"That's because. You are all imbeciles," states your least favorite Time player as he enters the room with his own moirail… and Johnny?

The little burgundyblood floats over and settles onto the back of Calbor's chair like he is a particularly squishy gargoyle, "I'd like to tell him he's wrong but… he's really not. Who's bright idea was to try and bring in untrained trolls with no Godtier powers?"

The whole table goes silent. The shame-faced looks some of them are sporting, however, makes it fairly obvious. 

After a few moments of awkward silence, Terezi pipes up, "What are you doing here, Johnny? I thought Gamzee wouldn't let you out of his reach for at least a perigee." 

"His new mission. Is annoying me. To death," Calbor rolls his eyes. 

"Gamz is taking a nap and I'm bored," shrugs Johnny. "Might as well be involved with the plotting. I mean, I didn’t sacrifice so much just to sit back and let everyone else do all the work. Also, it is a bonus that it annoys Calbor."

Rosean turns her attention to Damara and Aradia, "We should concentrate on the quality of our fighters and not the quantity. There are already so many of us it is almost hard to keep track of everyone in my visions of the future. While I agree having 'canon fodder' for the battles with the drones could be nice, we can definitely get supporters from the here and now that will not risk total timeline destruction."

"Howw do you suggest wwe gather recruits wwhen wwe are outlawws on the edge of the universe?" you question her. 

"Ideally by sending someone with more charisma than you," she shoots back. 

"I'm a luxury feww can tolerate," you sneer.

"Like caviar!" Johnny excitedly exclaims. 

You wrinkle your olfactory nub, "Charming."

"Actually, if we are hoping to get others to join the cause, the friendleaders are not a bad choice," ponders Jadite.

"You can't be serious," gapes Karkat. 

"Return of the palhonchos!" Johnny grins. 

"Feferi and yourself would also be good options," Terezi agrees. "Aradia, you too. However, I think the problem we would run into is the vulnerability most of you have. Jadite might be the only one safe to approach most groups, considering her hemocaste."

"I've never let it stop me before," counters the optimistic buffoon. "Showing up highbloods has been one of the highlights of being a troll."

"Anyone on the Beforus side wwho might be good wwith people?" you ask. 

"Porrim," offers Rosean immediately. "Like Kanaya, she is very sensible. Perhaps Latula as well?"

Damara shrugs, "Boring. Blah blah blah. Talk too much."

"That would be Kankri," suggests Aradia. 

"I have no idea why you would even say his name," your moirail whines. "I swear it is like it summons him or something."

"I think that’s more Calbor's thing," muses Johnny. "Or maybe not? Because usually he's already there. Time shenanigans."

"I think we should call this meeting adjourned," Dirk cuts in before the two can start arguing again. "Since we have collectively decided time traveling to snatch ancestors is a terrible idea."

"Good thinking," Rosean's shoulders slump with exhaustion. "Terezi and I are about to have a meeting with Vriska and Meenah anyway."

"Should we stay?" asks Aradia.

Terezi moans, "Kankri is coming."

You have never seen a block clear out so fast. Even your moirail hightails it out of there, the little nubby traitor. When you attempt to do the same, Rosean stops you with a hand at your elbow. 

"Just a moment," she insists. "Hopefully we shall be finished prior to the Beforus Vantas getting here."

You grimace, "I certainly wwant to be gone before that. Wwhat do you need?"

"Actually, it has a lot to do with Hope," Terezi gives you a shark-like grin. 

If anything, your grimace deepens, "Then you wwanna talk to Jadite's ancestor. I'vve heard he's the big player wwhen it comes to Hope."

"Don't be like that, Eridan," scolds Rosean, even as Vriska enters the room.

"You are the Prince of Hope," Terezi declares. "It is time for you to start acting like it."

"Destroyer of Hope seems like a counterintuitivve thing to wwant," you balk.

"Not when it is the hope of the enemy," grins Vriska. Ugh. That particular smile always gives you the shivers. 

"You can also be the one who destroys _using_ hope," Rosean points out helpfully.

"Wwhat, wwith the powwer of optimism?" you scoff.

"The Angels in The Game appeared to be a part of Hope powers," points out Rosean. "According to Calbor, Jake was able to command them to devastating results."

"Are there evven any Angels here to use?" you wonder. 

"Look, all we are asking is you start pulling out the big guns," Vriska tells you. "You were one of the best fighters in our session. If you could just scrape together some of those skills again, it would be really useful."

You consider her words, "I think wwe're all a little tired of fighting at this point, but if it means wwe can wwin for real this time, I can give it my best."

"That is all we are asking of each other," Rosean gives a satisfied smirk. "Now run along before Kankri arrives."

You do not even bother to come up with a retort, because she makes a very valid point. Skedaddling out of the area, you reflect on what you might just have agreed to doing. Giving your best at something is somewhat troublesome. Mostly because where does that leave you should you fail? Doing everything within your power and still falling short is a bitter pill. Insecurity is a weakness you wish you did not have.

Still, if you do not push yourself past your limits and the crew dies… that would be the worst case scenario. Especially considering there are no more dream bubbles. No second chances beyond conditional immortality from Godtier. Determination builds inside you. To live with yourself in the afterlife- er, well, you know- at least you can rest easy knowing you were not the cause for failure. After everything the others have been through, it is only fair. 

The mantle of Prince is a heavy burden. Luckily, you know just the troll to bother about your mutual title. Hopefully he has some good advice for you. Drat. Unintentional puns are the bane of everyone who has been through The Game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eridan is one of my favs in this fic and yet still so hard to write. what the heck eridan?? 
> 
> yes i am still alive. 2020 was a hellscape of a year for everyone. 2021 is honestly not turning out that much better for me. updates will continue to be sporadic at best. bear with me and hopefully the muse will return


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